


Roman And The Beanstalk

by Mercy_Rhyne



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Character death but it's not major, I assume it's REALLY difficult to figure out, I love the boy, Other, Roman is a cutie, guess which one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 13:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16064408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercy_Rhyne/pseuds/Mercy_Rhyne
Summary: Roman trades his cow for a few (supposedly magical) beans. Mysteries ensue





	Roman And The Beanstalk

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request for a secret santa I did last year, but it never really… happened, so I'm just gonna post it here now
> 
> Warnings: Minor character death. Think that's all?

There once was a man named Logan. Together with his son, Roman, he lived in a small cottage in the woods. They made money by selling the milk from their one cow, Alba. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was enough to keep the two of them alive.

Until the cow stopped giving milk. The two had nothing left to sell: Logan did not have a job and Roman was too young to do anything. They could only do one thing now: sell the cow for money. Hopefully, that would give them enough money for a few weeks. What would come after that, Logan could not foresee. But what mattered most to him, was that they would have food in the next few weeks. They had to sell the cow.

 

On the day he had to go to the market, Roman walked up to Alba and embraced her tightly. When he was younger, he used to play with her, pretend that she was a maiden in need of rescue, or a villain holding someone captive. Every free moment of his days would be spent in her company. And now he’d have to say goodbye to her.

 

“Remember what I told you, alright?” Logan asked as he crouched in front of his son.

“Yeah,” the young boy replied, looking down at the floor. “I need to follow the path to the market and sell Alba there.”

“Good,” Logan nodded. He’d love to join his son to the market, just to make sure everything would be alright, but he was unable to. He needed to take care of a few small businesses in and around their house. That was the only reason he wasn’t going along with his son. Because honestly, he wasn’t sure the young boy would sell the cow for a high enough price. But it was their only option.

 

And that is why Roman found himself walking through the woods, softly talking to his cow about how he was going to miss her.

“I just don’t know what I will do without you, Al,” he muttered, trying to kick a branch away. “You are my best friend and I will miss you so much, but Dad says I need to sell you. I don’t want to, Al, but… we do need to eat. You understand that, right?”

The young boy stopped to look at his cow, awaiting a response. Alba looked at the kid and turned her head away.

“Don’t be mad, Al,” Roman cried, practically lunging himself at the cow for another ‘final embrace’, “Dad told me we _have_ to give you away. He said that we don’t have a choice because without your milk, we cannot buy food. I’m so, so, so sorry!” He nuzzled the cow’s neck, before realising why exactly he was there in the woods, hugging his cow. They needed to go to the market.

 

They weren’t even out of the woods, when a strange person approached them. They wore a black coat and an orange hat. They stepped closer to Roman and called out to him. When the kid looked at the person in front of him, he took a few steps back in surprise. His father had told him to be aware of strangers in the woods, especially when they looked as… _odd_ as this figure did.

“There’s no need to worry kid,” the figure said, taking off their hat. They looked at Roman with their kind – almost adorable – brown eyes and smiled at the boy. “I saw you walking with your cow and I was wondering if you would be willing to… give it away.”

“My Dad told me to go to the market to sell her,” Roman answered hesitantly.

“Well, then I will buy her!” the person exclaimed. “What do you ask?”

 

Roman looked at the cow next to him. Was he really willing to sell Alba? His father had told him to sell her at the market. Wouldn’t he get angry if he sold her to some stranger in the woods? What if this person was a bad person? What if something would happen to him or Alba?

But… what if they offered a good price?

“What will you pay?” At this question, the human in front of Roman looked down. They searched their pockets for something to offer the kid, but all they could find were…

“Five beans?” Roman asked as he looked at what the stranger held up in front of him. He could not sell Alba for that. Logan would _murder_ him. The stranger grimaced as they replied:

“I don’t have any money on me right now. I could go back to my house to get you the money or… you could take these _magical_ beans as a payment instead?”

“Magical beans?” the young boy wondered. “What magic can they do?”

“I cannot tell you,” they answered quickly, “that- that is a secret.”

 

Roman started at the beans the stranger held up to him. If these beans were actually magical, that would give them so much more money and food than the money anyone else could give them for Alba. _Five_ magical beans. How could he say no to that?

And so they made the deal. Roman got the five magical beans. The stranger got the cow. After one final hug – for real this time – the kid said goodbye to Alba.

“I’m going to miss you, Al,” he whispered to the cow before he pressed a kiss to her nose. “You should take good care of her.”

“Of course, kid,” the stranger nodded. “I will.”

And with those words, they led Alba away from Roman. The boy watched sadly as he saw the cow disappearing in the distance. He stood there, unmoving, until he couldn’t see her anymore. Then, he turned around and walked back home.

As he walked, the kid looked at the five beans he held in his hands. He was really curious what they would do. Maybe they would give them an infinite amount of food! Maybe they would conjure money, or maybe they’d even grant wishes! Roman brought the beans closer to his face, deciding to try out that last option.

“I wish that we would never be hungry again,” he whispered to the beans, “I wish we could get Alba back and live happily together.”

Then he waited. But nothing happened. There was no Alba and nothing changed. Maybe he would have to go home for things to happen, the kid decided. So he walked back home.

 

Logan was surprised to see his son returning again. And without a cow. He wouldn’t have expected Alba to be sold so quickly. She was an old cow, after all, hardly fit for anything. But if they offered good money, he wasn’t complaining.

“Roman,” he called out, slowly approaching his son. “Back already?”

“Yep,” the kid nodded. “A stranger in the woods saw me walking with Alba and they wanted to buy her.”

“A stranger in the woods?” Logan repeated, raising an eyebrow. Something seemed off about this tale. But Roman nodded.

“Yes. But they were very kind!”

“What did they give you for her?” Roman grinned in response as he showed his father what he held in his hands. But Logan did not respond as happily as Roman would have wanted.

“Five beans?” he asked. “Roman, this isn’t even enough for one meal!”

“They’re magical beans!” the young boy defended. “They said they were magical!”

“And did this stranger say _what_ these beans could do?” Logan asked sceptically as he took the five beans from his son, who shook his head.

“No,” he said, “it was a secret.”

“Roman…” the father sighed, closing his eyes in irritation. “This person scammed you. These are just beans, nothing more.”

He dropped the beans on the ground, looking down at his son again. Roman stared into his father’s eyes, shaking his head.

“No, they _said_ they were magical!”

“Sometimes, people lie, Roman.” He knew he should have gone with Roman to the market. He should have known his kid would pull a stunt like this. Now, they’d have to find another way to get food. They didn’t have any money to buy anything now… they would have to find another way.

 

The next morning, Roman woke up to his father shouting his name. The kid slowly made his way over to his father, still half asleep. As soon as he stepped out, he noticed something was off, to say the least. There was a huge beanstalk in front of their house. It reached the canopy of leaves above their heads and it even broke through the canopy. It seemed to go on forever. A grin spread on Roman’s face. The beans had worked! They _were_ magical beans. He could only imagine where this beanstalk would lead him. Maybe there was a pot of gold at the end of it, just like rainbows.  But his smile faltered when he laid eyes on Logan. He wasn’t exactly thrilled by the thought of having an enormous beanstalk in front of their house. But he didn’t have the right to be upset, right? He threw the beans there to begin with.

 

A few hours later, Logan had gone to the nearby village, trying to find an easy way to get some more money for him and his son. Roman had to promise not to run off into the woods – he had a tendency to get lost in the woods and Logan didn’t want him to get lost if he wasn’t around. So Roman nodded and told his father that no, he would not go into the woods until Logan returned. But, as soon as his father was out of his sight, the kid grinned and ran to the beanstalk. Dad hadn’t told him that he couldn’t climb it, after all. And Roman was _dying_ to find out where this magical stalk would lead them.

So he climbed. And he climbed. He climbed until he didn’t feel his arms anymore. And every second, he had to tell himself to _not look down, don’t look down, don’t look at how far you’ve gotten it’ll only scare you and you’ll fall, don’t look down_. _Don’t think about how you’re going to get down later just climb up and see where it’s going, don’t look down._

He was about to give up, when he saw something in the clouds. Something that looked like… a village? Could it be? The kid climbed up, having found new life in his arms. He climbed until he broke through the clouds and he was met with an actual village, built on the clouds. The boy gawked at the sight of it as he wandered through the streets. The houses were light and they seemed as if they could fall apart any second. It was breathtaking and so surreal. He walked through the streets, admiring the architecture.

Suddenly, a door opened next to him and a short man looked at the kid.

“Hey, you!” he called out to the kid, quickly looking from side to side. The stranger gestured to Roman. “Come here, quickly!”

Roman hesitated before running towards the man. He knew his father would lecture him about this if he heard what he did, but the stranger seemed so anxious and tense that the kid could only comply. He approached the man, who quickly let the kid into his house. Roman looked around and found that he was stood in a small house. In front of him, a wooden staircase spiralled up to the first floor and next to it, he saw an open door that revealed a small strip of what appeared to be a living room. The walls of the hall were a faded yellow, the floor was black.

The strange man led the young boy to the living room, stealing a glance at the outside once more. “You need to be careful out here, kid,” he warned in a low voice. “It’s dangerous out here for people like you.”

“What do you mean?” Roman asked, as he sat down on the wooden couch in the living room. He looked up at the man in confusion. He noticed how said man took a few deep breaths, pondering how he could explain the situation to the young boy.

“It’s… dangerous,” he repeated. “There are bad people out here. And you don’t want to run into them, especially not when you’re on your own. In fact, I think you should get out of here as soon as possible.” Roman couldn’t say he wasn’t disappointed to hear this. Had he really climbed all this way, just to find out he had to leave this place as soon as he came? He hadn’t come all the way up to this beautiful place, only to leave it behind immediately. The man noticed the kid’s disappointment as it nodded and he quickly offered to give him something to eat, something to drink maybe, before sending him back home again. Roman agreed and waited as the man walked to his kitchen, coming back with a mug of tea and two cookies.

The kid took the beverage and cookies from the stranger and thanked him. As he ate the cookies and drank the tea, Roman talked to the man. He found out this man’s name was Patton and he lived there with his husband. The kid tried to find out more about the bad people who lived here, but no matter what he did, Roman could not get any more information out of Patton.  

 

When Roman had finished his tea and the two cookies, Patton told him to leave the place as soon as possible. The two headed to the hallway again and just before the kid wanted to go out, he was stopped by the other man, telling him he would make sure the coast was clear first. He peaked trough the windows looking out on the street and quickly jumped back, muttering some obscene words under his breath. Roman watched the man worriedly as he walked to the hall. The boy followed the older man, asking him what was going on.

“You… you need to hide immediately.”

“Why?” Roman wanted to know. “What is going on?”

“There’s no time for questions,” Patton answered hurriedly. He ushered Roman to a small door, opening it as he looked to the front door. “You need to hide now.”

 

Roman peeked inside the room behind the small door. All he could see was a small stair and darkness. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go in there. It was dark and… scary. But Patton seemed to insist he hide. He almost seemed scared. But… it was so dark in that small space. He couldn’t see anything there, what if there was something else down there? What if he fell? What if it was a trap?

Patton seemed to notice his hesitance and he placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder.

“Listen,” he started, glancing back at the door again. “You _need_ to go in there. Now. I’ll bring you a candlestick and some water and food, but you need to go in this room if you want to survive.”

“Is one of the bad people coming?”

“Yes,” Patton said as the faint sound of keys reached his ears. “Go in, now!”

Roman nodded and stepped into the step, pushing away his fears. He slowly made his way down the stairs and sat down on the bottom step as Patton closed the door, taking away the vague light that came in from the room above. So now the kid sat there, in darkness.

He heard Patton’s voice, followed by a low, unfamiliar voice. He couldn’t hear what the voices were saying, but he didn’t care. All he could think of was what would happen to him. Patton had told him to hide in here. He had said that a bad person was coming. What would they do if they found him down here? Why had Patton been so insistent on him hiding in here? What would this person do to him? Roman’s gut told him not to think about this, but his mind didn’t listen.

 

He didn’t know how long he sat there until Patton returned. The man was holding a candlestick in one hand, a glass of water in the other. He quickly shut the door behind him and walked to the young boy. The man handed Roman the glass of water as he slowly made his way to one of the shelves in the room and placed the candlestick on there.

“I don’t have much time,” Patton whispered as he approached Roman again, watching where he placed his feet very closely. “But I will return with some food for you later. I think you should stay here until he goes upstairs. I’ll knock on the door three times when you can go, alright?”

Roman nodded at Patton’s instructions before taking a small sip of the water in his glass.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Alright then,” Patton nodded. “But only one. I don’t have much time.”

“That… man upstairs,” Roman started carefully. “Who is he? Why do I need to watch out for him?”

“That’s two questions,” the man grinned. “But he’s my husband, and… he’s dangerous. That’s all you need to know. I really have no time now, I’m sorry.”

And before Roman could say anything else, Patton rushed upstairs again, leaving the kid behind in the basement.

 

He didn’t know how long he sat there. He didn’t know how long it took until Patton came back with some bread for him. He didn’t know how long it took until he heard footsteps going upstairs to the first floor, or until he heard three short knocks. But he knew that, when he walked up the stairs, it was dark outside.

“You should go now,” Patton whispered. “I’m going upstairs now, too. You should be careful with the door, though. You cannot make any noise, okay?”

Roman nodded, looking outside. His father would be worried sick about him. He would be angry, too. He wasn’t allowed to sneak off like that and he knew it. Logan would not be amused.

“Thank you,” Roman whispered, briefly hugging the man in front of him.

“No problem, kid,” Patton smiled as he returned the hug. But then, he seemed to realise something and he pulled away from the kid. “Listen, I need to go upstairs now, before my husband gets suspicious. You can’t let him see you, okay? Just go now and don’t come back here. Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” Roman replied with a nod. “And thanks again.”

Patton smiled as he headed upstairs. Roman walked towards the door, but something in the dark caught his attention. He saw the vague moonlight shone upon something in the corner of the room reflected the light. Roman’s curiosity got the better of him and he softly walked towards it. When he approached the mysterious object, the kid saw what it was. A black bag had been placed against the wall and a small pouch stuck out of it. A small pouch containing what appeared to be golden coins. Roman grinned as he snatched the pouch out of the bag and hid it in the pocket of his jacket, making sure not to make any noise. Then, he softly made his way out of the small house and ran to the place where the beanstalk had sprouted, climbing down to his own home.

 

It took a long time to get down again, and it was tricky. More than once, Roman felt himself slipping away and he managed to catch himself just in time. After ages of climbing down, he finally set foot on the ground again and he slowly walked to the cottage, dreading what he would find. Logan would not be happy.

Roman took a deep breath and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, he heard quick footsteps approaching.

“There you are!” Logan called out. “Where have you been? I told you not to go into the woods! Do you know how worried I was? Do you know what could have happened to you?”

“I… I didn’t go into the woods,” Roman tried to defend himself. “I went up the beanstalk.”

“You- you did _what_?”

“I went up the beanstalk,” Roman repeated. “I wanted to see where it led.”

“You’ve been away for _hours_.”

“I found a city up there! Or a village, or anything.” Roman walked closer to his father, avoiding the man’s furious gaze. He knew he shouldn’t have done it. But he didn’t know there was an entire city up there! It couldn’t have been his fault, could it?

“A city?” Logan asked disbelievingly. “Are you trying to say an entire city sprouted in one night?”

“I don’t know, maybe it was there already.” Logan clearly did not believe his kid’s tale. Because how could this be true? Having an enormous beanstalk in front of his house was one thing, but an entire city just appearing in the sky was something completely different. Roman had always been an imaginative child, this _had_ to be one of his daydreams.

“It’s true, Dad!” Roman yelled, seeing that Logan did not believe him. He reached into his pocket and showed his father the pouch of coins he had taken with him. “Look!”

 

Logan raised his eyebrows as he grabbed the pouch in his hand, studying its contents.

“Where did you get this?” he asked as he placed the pouch on the table next to him. “Where did this come from?”

“I… found it,” Roman said. He knew he couldn’t tell his father that he _stole_ the money. Especially because Patton’s husband was one of the bad people up there. “I found it up there.”

Logan hesitated as he looked at his kid. Surely, this money had to belong to someone. But if Roman had truly just found it… then it wouldn’t be _that_ bad to keep it right? They didn’t know who this actually belonged to before Roman stumbled upon it. And besides… it was a lot of money. They could use this money.

“Fine,” Logan sighed eventually. He wasn’t sure he believed Roman, but he understood that Roman would not give up trying to prove this city existed. So he’d be the one to give up.

“I can prove it!” Roman insisted. “I can prove it exists! Can I go back tomorrow? I want to explore some more! Please, Dad?”

“If you promise to be careful,” Logan finally gave in. “But no more. You still sneaked away without my permission!”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded, looking down again. He was excited to go back to the city. Even though Patton had told him not to come back, the boy was curious to see what the city truly looked like. He wanted to see more of it than just Patton’s house.

 

After just a short discussion between Logan and his son, they both went to bed. Roman could hardly sleep. He was so excited about this discovery and about going back the next day. And maybe the thought of danger was what excited him so much. Finally, he’d have an adventure of his own, like in the stories!

 

The next day, Roman could barely eat anything. He was too excited for what he might find in the city above. But he knew he had to eat well – otherwise, Logan would lecture him. In the worst case, he wouldn’t even be allowed to go! So Roman finished his breakfast and quickly prepared himself to go up again. As he witnessed this, Logan started wondering why he had allowed his son to go back to this place. He had no idea how real it was, or how safe it was. The only thing he knew about this place, was the fact that Roman insisted it was real and he had found money there. That was all Roman would tell him. But it was too late to say otherwise now. So Logan watched as Roman waved goodbye and made his way to the beanstalk again. The kid quickly climbed up, leaving his father behind.

 

The journey up seemed way more bearable than it had been the day before. Roman reached the top of the beanstalk, his arms tired and legs shaking, but he was satisfied. He was delighted to be back in this city. He walked around, looking at the houses and the shops. Roman had just spotted a forest and he was about to enter it, when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

“Roman! What are you doing back here?” Patton’s voice asked softly. “Didn’t I tell you not to come back here?”

Patton sounded more worried than anything. Maybe there was a hint of annoyance in his voice, but it was mostly worry. Roman immediately felt bad. He knew Patton had told him to never come back. But he couldn’t just leave this new place behind.

“I know,” Roman said, turning around to meet the man who had helped him the day before that. “I’m sorry I just… got too curious I think.”

“It’s alright,” Patton replied. His voice sounded much softer again. The man could never stay angry. “You must be tired, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, kinda…” Roman nodded.

“Alright, well, just come back to my place,” Patton offered after a brief hesitation. “I’ll give you some food. But you need to promise me you won’t come back again. It’s too risky to show up here!”

“I promise,” the boy replied. Patton smiled and led Roman back to his house. Just like the day before, Roman sat down on the couch in their living room as Patton got him some water and bread. Just like the day before, they talked as Roman drank the water and ate the bread. And just like the day before, Patton’s husband showed up just as the kid had to leave.

The only difference was that this time, Patton didn’t have to explain to the young boy _why_ he had to hide. Roman sat down next to the door, trying to hear what the two men were saying to each other. He could vaguely hear their conversation.

“Hey, honey,” that soft voice was Patton’s. Undoubtedly. “Any success?”

“Not yet.” The other man’s voice sounded low and frustrated. “I’ve searched the entire city and I found absolutely nothing. Have you seen anything?”

“I haven’t,” Patton replied. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. We have no idea who could have done it. I guess we will just have to accept it.”

“I think so.”

There was a short silence after that, and Roman thought the two men might have left. But just as he wanted to carefully move down the stairs, Patton’s husband started talking again.

“I still smell it, by the way,” he stated. “Are you sure there’s no one here?”

“I’ve searched the house more than once, Virge, I’m pretty sure we’re alone,” Patton said. “Unless they’re invisible, but I don’t remember humans having that ability.”

“Guess you’re right,” _Virge_ grunted in reply. “You don’t know where it could be coming from?”

“No idea.” Patton’s voice was followed by a few footsteps, leading away from the basement where Roman was hiding. “I’ll try my best to find something, but… I think you’d want some food first, don’t you?”

“That sounds great, Pat,” Virge answered. “You know, I ran into a salesman on the way back home, and he offered he this chicken. Apparently, it-”

Virge’s voice faded away as he walked into the living room. Roman never found out what was so special about this chicken, as the last part had been too soft for him to hear.

When he was sure that the two men weren’t around, Roman softly walked down the stairs, sitting down on the last step. He couldn’t stop thinking about Virge. He hadn’t sounded as vicious as Roman had imagined him to be. He had actually sounded quite nice. Frustrated, but still kind. Kinder than the boy had thought he would be. Odd.

 

After an unknown period of time, Patton entered the basement again with some bread and water for the kid. He told him that again, he’d knock on the door three times if it was safe to leave. Before he left the room, Patton looked at the boy for a few moments and it seemed as if he wanted to say something. But eventually, he decided against it and walked up the stairs again.  

And so, Roman waited. And he waited. He waited until he heard someone knocking on the door. One, two three times. The kid waited for a few more seconds before walking up the stairs and slowly opening the door. Patton was waiting for him outside the door.

“Listen, Roman,” he said in a hushed tone, quickly glancing upstairs, “I told you yesterday to not come back here. But you did. Now, I’m going to tell you this once more: _don’t come back here_. It’s too dangerous for people like you.”

“But why?” Roman inquired. “Why is it so dangerous?”

This place seemed so peaceful, so calm and quiet. The boy could not imagine how this could be dangerous. It was too beautiful.

“It’s complicated,” Patton sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just believe me, okay? Go home and don’t come back here.”

“Alright, alright,” Roman agreed finally. “I won’t. Thank you for taking care of me, though.”

“No problem, kiddo.” The young boy hesitated for a brief moment, before he quickly hugged Patton. But then, he walked towards the door. He waved before softly opening it. Patton waved back at the boy as he made his way upstairs.

 

When Roman stepped into the small garden in front of Patton’s house, he noticed something glimmering in the moonlight. And even though he knew Patton had told him to get out of there immediately, his curiosity – once again – got the better of him. He slowly made his way over to the object, glancing around if no one saw him. When he got to the object Roman picked it up and studied it. It was an egg. But… eggs don’t glimmer, Roman soon decided. Eggs don’t reflect moonlight.

After a few moments of close inspection, the kid deduced that it was made out of some sort of metal. It appeared to be gold, but Roman wasn’t so sure that was even possible. And where did it come from?

As if on cue, the boy heard a soft clucking next to him. He turned his head to see a chicken approaching. “Did you lay this egg?” he asked the chicken softly, looking at the house to assure himself that no one was looking at him. The chicken clucked in reply to Roman’s question and as it moved a few seconds later, it revealed a second golden egg.

“I think that’s a yes, then,” Roman said to himself. He picked up the second egg and placed both eggs in his pockets. He then looked at the chicken and hesitated. He reckoned that maybe, this was the chicken Virge told Patton about. That meant that he – probably – just bought it. It would probably be a bad idea to take the animal with him but… they could sell its eggs for money. That idea was just too tempting for the young boy. He couldn’t just leave the chicken there. And so, he carefully picked her up and ran towards the beanstalk. Admittedly, it wasn’t easy to climb down while carrying the chicken, but somehow, Roman managed. After a lot of wriggling and almost falling down a number of times, the boy set foot on the ground again. He immediately ran to the house to show his father the chicken he had brought.

“What is this?” Logan asked as Roman stepped into the house, beaming. “You brought… a chicken?”

“Not just any chicken,” the boy smiled. “It lays golden eggs!”

Roman placed the animal on the floor to show the two eggs he had found. As he did so, the chicken made a low sound as it moved, only to reveal yet _another_ egg made out of gold. Logan frowned as he picked up the egg and studied it closely. It seemed to be pure gold.

“Where did you find this chicken?”

“Up there,” Roman replied, pointing to the sky. “I… I found her walking on the street.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at this response and looked at his son. The young kid smiled sheepishly at his father. Something was off about this, but Logan decided not to push it and instead accepted it. After all, he knew that they could sell these eggs. Even if the weren’t made out of gold, they could easily pass as it, which meant they could ask quite a bit of money for it. They wouldn’t have to worry about not having any money anymore.

“Just… go to bed, Roman,” Logan told his son. “We’ll talk about this in the morning. You need to sleep now.”

Roman nodded and went to his room. Normally, he would have protested, but he was way too tired to resist and instead accepted his fate. The past two days had been very tiring for him and he could use some good sleep.

Logan placed the three eggs on the table, made sure the chicken was safely inside and that it had water – they hardly had any food, so it would have to suffer for a bit – before he too, went to his bedroom.

 

Months passed and the small family managed to make decent money from selling the golden eggs on the market. Roman, following Patton’s instructions, didn’t climb up the beanstalk again, even though it was so tempting. They never cut down the plant, so it just… stood there. It seemed to be calling out to Roman. And it was so tempting. But he had told Patton he wouldn’t go back. He couldn’t go back.

 

But one day, when Logan had gone out to the market, he caved. He just _had_ to go back. Just one more time, he told himself. _One last time_. And then, he would never return again. He just had to see the village again. Maybe, he would even get to explore the city for himself without Patton coming up to him.

So, when his father had left, Roman climbed up the beanstalk again. He climbed and climbed until his arms were sore. He climbed until he couldn’t climb anymore. But he was almost there. He was so close. Just a little bit more.

 

When Roman got to the city in the sky, he looked around, a smile appearing on his lips. It truly was as gorgeous as he remembered. He didn’t understand how something so beautiful could be so dangerous. How could a place that was so beautiful, so peaceful, be filled with hate and danger? His mind couldn’t grasp that idea. But he trusted Patton. He didn’t have any reason not to trust the man.

 

Roman wandered through the area around the city, making sure he stayed hidden at all times, so no one would see him. He reasoned that Patton had no reason to lie to him about the dangerous people that seemed to be living in this area. The kid explored a small forest close to the town, glancing at the nearby streets every once in a while. If only he could spend more time here. If only he could walk around freely. If only he could live here. This place was absolutely amazing and Roman wanted to spend more time here. But he knew he could never do that. Patton had made that quite clear.

 

As he remembered the older man, Roman realised he missed him and that he wanted to see the man again. He didn’t care he was the one who told him to get out of there. He didn’t care he was the one who told him to never come back. He missed him. And so, he did what every wise person would have done.

He walked to Patton’s house.

 

Roman knocked on the door. He knew he had made a mistake as soon as his fist connected with the wood. Patton had told him to never come back. He had _promised_ he would never come back. But it was too late to turn back now. He had already knocked on the door and he already heard footsteps approaching.

The door opened with a soft creak, pulling Roman from his thoughts. He turned his head and looked at Patton with a sheepish smile.

“Roman?” the man asked, looking around to make sure no one was looking at them before he ushered the boy inside. “What are you _doing_ here? You promised you wouldn’t come back here.”

“I know,” Roman nodded, looking down at the floor. “I just… I missed you, Patton. I wanted to see you again.” “You did?” Patton smiled ever so slightly at this response. He wished he could say he hadn’t missed the boy himself. But he knew that he couldn’t let the boy come back here. It was too dangerous. Roman nodded in response. He already walked to the living room and sat down on the couch, looking at the man in front of him. Then, his eyes noticed something he hadn’t seen before. On the table, he saw a small, golden instrument. He was sure this harp wasn’t there the last time he visited this house.

“What’s that?” he asked curiously, slowly edging closer to the instrument. It was as if he was under some spell, cast by the instrument.

“It’s a harp,” Patton answered, sitting next to Roman. “A magical one. It can play songs on command. I would recommend you leave _this_ behind, though.”

“What?” Roman asked, turning to the man next to him, raising an eyebrow. He… Patton didn’t know he had stolen the money and the chicken, did he?

No, of course he did. It was too coincidental to have two valuable things disappeared on the exact two days that Roman was there. Of course Patton knew what he had done.

“You know what I’m talking about, Roman,” Patton spoke softly. Roman turned his head to his hands and nodded.

“Yeah, I- I’m sorry about that,” he whispered. “I know I shouldn’t have done that I just…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Patton interrupted him quickly. “I mean, Virgil wasn’t too amused about it but… it’s not the end of the world.”

Roman smiled. It took him a few moments to realise that Virgil was probably the man he had started to call ‘Virge’. Patton’s husband. He was lucky Patton was such a kind being, Roman realised. If he had been anything like Virgil, he wouldn’t have survived here for long.

The two talked for a while, and like the two times before, they forgot the time. And before they knew it, Virgil was about to come home. This time, Patton didn’t even have to tell the young boy to hide in the basement. He rushed to the hallway and walked into the basement himself. He listened as Patton greeted his husband. He waited until Patton approached him with food and he waited until he heard the three knocks. It was all routine by now.

“Roman,” Patton spoke seriously as he placed his hands on the kid’s shoulders. “This time, you need to _promise_ me not to come back, okay? I don’t want you to come back here again, okay? I keep saying this, but it’s too dangerous.”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded. He knew Patton was right. He knew he shouldn’t keep coming here. But he couldn’t stay away. “I know. I… I won’t come back.”

“Good.”

“I’ll miss you, though.”

“Roman… I’ll miss you too,” Patton said. He carefully hugged the young boy. “I need to go now. Take care of yourself, kiddo.”

Roman nodded as Patton quickly went upstairs. The kid headed for the front door, but when he placed his hand on the doorknob, he remembered the harp he had seen in the living room. It was so gorgeous and he knew Logan would love it. He knew he shouldn’t but… it was so tempting.

And so, Roman sneaked back to the living room to grab the harp. He picked up the instrument and walked back to the door. But, as he stepped into the hallway, the harp started _yelling_.

“Help!” it cried out. “Help, some kid is stealing me! Help me!”

Roman froze in fear as the instrument let out the loud calls for help. He was dead. He was _so dead_. He heard the sound of voices upstairs, followed by someone running down the stairs. Just a few moments later, Roman looked into the eyes of a man he hadn’t seen before. Virgil.

The man looked at the kid, fury burning in his brown eyes. They stood there for what felt like an eternity, until Virgil spoke up:

“I knew something was up.” His voice was low and dangerous, filled with malice. It was nothing like the voice Roman had heard when he was hiding in their basement. “You little brat, what do you think you are doing with that harp?”

Roman hesitated and looked up. He could just make out Patton’s figure standing behind his husband, looking down at the kid worriedly. The boy turned back to Virgil and saw the man was glaring at him with more hatred in his eyes than he had ever seen before. He had to go now.

 

Without a second thought, Roman turned around and ran to the door as fast as he could. He fumbled with the doorknob as he heard Virgil running down the stairs behind him. He finally swung the door open and just managed to dodge the hand that reached out for his collar. Roman rushed towards the beanstalk, running as fast as his legs could carry him. When he finally reached the plant that might lead him to safety, he started climbing down without hesitating.

He heard Virgil cursing at him as he followed the kid down. Roman climbed and climbed, not stopping when he felt his arms growing tired. He couldn’t rest. He had to keep going. There had to be something he could do to get rid of Virgil. Maybe he could… convince the man to go back home somehow. He could try bribing him? It wasn’t a good idea but… maybe it would work. He had to at least try something, right?

And so he climbed. When Roman saw the roof of his house appear, he carefully threw down the harp and followed it, jumping down the last bit. He landed on his feet and supported himself as he stumbled forwards. Looking up, he saw Virgil still climbing the stalk. There was only one thing for Roman to do and he ran inside.

“Ro, what-”

“No time,” Roman hurriedly interrupted as he grabbed the axe they kept indoors, “I’ll explain later.” And with those words, he was gone. He ran back to the beanstalk and started cutting it down as quickly as his arms would allow him. With every blow, the balance of the stalk was disturbed and Roman noticed that this affected Virgil’s climbing as well. Good.

He kept going and eventually, the beanstalk fell over. Slowly but surely, it fell to the ground. Virgil hadn’t managed to let go of the plant in time and he fell down with it. Roman heard a sickening crunch as he hit the ground.

 

The kid flinched and to be fair, he expected the man to get up and rush towards him still. But it never happened. So very carefully, Roman approached the man.

“Mister Virge?” he called out. “Mister Virge, are you alright?”

But he got no reply. As Roman stepped closer, he noticed blood pooled around the man’s body, turning the grass a deep shade of crimson. Roman called the man’s name once more, but as soon as he saw the body, he knew enough. The boy felt bile rising up as he stumbled backwards. No. No, it couldn’t be true. No. Oh no. What had he done? Had he actually _killed_ Patton’s husband? No. He couldn’t have.

“Roman, what is going on?” Logan had come outside, wanting so see why his son was behaving this weirdly. But then, he saw Virgil’s body. “What… is this?”

Roman turned around and ran towards his head, hugging him tightly. Logan could feel his small body trembling and he wrapped his arms around his son. They sat there for a while, until Roman had calmed down enough. The young boy followed his father, where he told him the whole story. He started the story at the first time he climbed up the beanstalk and ended with the death of Virgil.

“So all of this… is stolen?” Logan asked, gesturing to the money and the new, fancier furniture they had managed to buy. Roman nodded. “And you went up there twice, knowing it would be dangerous and you had promised this… man that you wouldn’t?” Again, Roman nodded. Logan sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Roman…” he spoke after a tense silence. “You know I don’t condone any of this behaviour. And I don’t want you doing anything like this again.”

The boy looked down at the floor, avoiding even looking in the direction of his father.

“But… I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now,” the father sighed. “But I don’t want to hear anything like this again, alright?”

“Alright,” Roman nodded. “I promise.”

 

And so it happened. The two lived together in the cottage in the woods. Even though they could easily afford to buy a bigger house in the city, neither of them really wanted to leave their house. There were too many memories connected to it and both of them would rather live in the calm forest than in the hectic city. The whole affair with the beanstalk was quickly forgotten, though sometimes, Logan would find his son looking up at the sky, lost in his thoughts, a serene smile playing on his lips. And every now and again, Roman would long to return to the city in the clouds. He knew he could never go back and in a way, it was a blessing that the beanstalk had been cut down. But Roman never forgot about what he had done to Patton’s husband and he never stopped feeling guilty about it. If only he could talk to Patton about it, and apologize. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t go back up there. He quickly learned he had to move on from it and put it all behind him.

And he did. It might have taken a long time, but he moved on. He learned to live with the knowledge that he had killed the husband of a man he called his friend. But he never forgot. He could never stop thinking about what Patton would be going through. He had lost his husband. And Roman had been the one to kill him. He had killed a man.

Sometimes, Roman would dream about it. He would dream about going back to Patton; the man would greet him with a smile and a hug. He would take care of the kid. He’d say he forgave Roman for what he did to his husband, that he understood he had no choice. They would hug.

Or he’d dream about being chased by Virgil. He’d rush away from the man and as he turned around, he saw him falling down the beanstalk again. He heard his bones breaking again. And then, he’d see Patton, looking at the scene from a distance. The man would run towards his husband’s body and as Roman approached, muttering a soft apology, he’d send him away. Roman would try to talk, but he never got the chance. Patton sent him away every time, telling him to leave him alone. Forever.

But after a while, those dream grew less frequent and the events turned into a distant memory. And he moved on.


End file.
